Bicycle Shifting

[Bill B]

Not against progress, but have been riding the same Fuji 10 speed since 1977. It was a left over 1976 model that I got for a good price at the time. Wasn't 1977 also the year that Inline Paul started driving a stick shift, and less importantly Jimmy Carter was President. Was at the bike shop getting a flat fixed and they let me take one of the new aluminum frame bikes out for a spin while they were working on my bike. Did not really care for the new fangled click shifters located on the handlebars by the brake levers. With my old friction shifters you can go from 5th to 1st gear lickity split instead of having to click through all of them. Also the bike did not have a kickstand. Apparaently they are not cool any more and were eliminated to save weight. My suggestion would be to take your wallet out of your pocket if you want to save weight. They also have some battary operated electronic shifters. Did not try those, but might be a problem when the battary runs down. My old 10 speed also has those extended brake levers so you can ride in a comfortable position and still use the brakes. Those are also uncool according to whoever detirmines what is bicycle chic. I use mine all the time. My 27x 1 1/4 wheels are also not longer made. Now they have metricized them and most of the new wheels are 700C. I do used the more modern Map My Ride app. Have put around 1200 miles on the old 10 speed in the last 14 months. It does weigh 42 pounds with the luggage rack, but is still reasonably quick with its 27 inch tires. On the bike trail the causal riders are usually the most friendly. The pretentious riders with the expensive clothes and expensive carbon fiber bikes are usually the ones who look down on the rider with a less expensive bike.

[AHTOXA]

I've seen more than a few bikes out on the local trails riding some old bike while passing folks on expensive machines left and right. And I bet they were having a blast regardless of how old their bike is.

Bottom line is, it doesn't matter how old your bike is. If you like it and it brings you joy - that's what it's all about. But, you cannot deny technological progress. My full suspension trail bike with not the lightest of tires and the only carbon part being part of the headset, it weighs in at just under 27lbs. I cannot imagine riding a 42 pound bike. Throwing that thing around corners (with any kind of speed and grip), bunny hopping, stopping and doing tech climbs would be challenging, to say the least. Moving weight that's on you (on your person) is very different from moving weight under you, such as a heavy bike.

But I feel ya, man. My bike's an '08. It has 26" wheels and local body shops don't even sell 26" wheeled mountain bikes any more - it's all about the 29'ers and 27.5, and to tell you the truth, I can't tell a damn worth a difference between my 26" and another bike with a 27.5" wheelset and for me to have a bike with equal componentry but a modern 27.5" wheelset would cost right around 3 grand. No, thanks. I'll ride my 26'er. along with a bunch of other folks.

[Squint]

It's not quite the same thing but I ride my bike around town for errands/school/exercise/etc. - I have a 2014 Giant Escape 2 City. I am actually a big fan of the "newfangled click" shifters because you can shift through 3+ gears quickly for downshifting. I ride back and forth from work and school on the roads and regularly jump around from 7th to 3rd/2nd. You press the button once and it goes one gear, or it can be pressed more to go through more gears (downshifting only). When I was younger, I wasn't a huge fan of the handlebar twist shifters, though they aren't bad - I just prefer the click shifters now that I've been using them for a few months. I haven't weighed my bike but it probably comes in around 30 lbs as I think the Escape 2 was 27+ and the City has fenders and a rear rack mounted and I have lights also. I went for a slightly above entry but not really that expensive-in-terms-of-bikes-expensive and I feel like it fits well.

I have not tried any of the tracking apps yet, I've been pondering it thought just to track how much I ride...

[theholycow]

When I was younger, I wasn't a huge fan of the handlebar twist shifters, though they aren't bad - I just prefer the click shifters now that I've been using them for a few months

I've always hated handlebar twist shifters and probably always will.

OP was talking about friction shifters vs. indexed shifters, and his Fuji 10-speed probably either has them on the stem or downtube. Those aren't too bad, but they are analog instead of digital like indexed shifters; you push it until you get the gear you want instead of counting clicks and then forgetting about it.

Those old 10-speeds are a decent way to get around even if they are heavy and low-tech.

[Shadow]

BTW, I absolutely love my new Motobecane 27.5 that I talked about a few months ago in another thread. Not to hi-jack this thread, but I just figured I'd bring that up. I've actually really beat the bike up just to see if anything would break. It did. The bottom bracket started groaning like a $10 whore after some particularly rough trail riding. So a trip down to the LBS and $95 later, it was good as new again. The LBS guy told me that the bottom bracket that came with the bike was about the cheapest thing ever, so he upgraded it to a mid-quality (his words, not mine) Shimano unit that he says will typically come on mountain bikes in the $1000 - $1500 range. I've ridden the bike a bunch since then and all seems okey-dokey so far.

Oh, and BikesDirect reimbursed me 100% for the repair made to the bike, both parts & labor. I guess I can't really complain at all with their warranty service.

The only other thing I can complain about concerning the bike itself is the fork. It works just fine, but you can tell riding the bike that it's not exactly a high quality piece. I doubt it will be long before I upgrade it.

[AHTOXA]

Upgrading forks isn't a cheap exercise, if you're going for a good, quality unit that will last you for many years. Granted, be ready to rebuild the fork every couple of years, depending on how hard you ride, but the good news is that rebuilding them is cheap - about $25 in parts and $60 in labor, if you prefer to take it into the shop.

I've replaced my bottom bracket this year, when it went from smooth and quiet to half-seized. This is after about 3,000 miles of hard riding.

[Squint]

Bill mentioned Map My Ride. What other apps do you all use to track rides?

[AHTOXA]

I use Strava (free version).

It gives me the typical deals of MapMyRide, but it also shows me where I stand with other users who have ridden the given section of trail. It also divides the trails into sections, so you can see not only your time standing overall, but you can see it per section. I like it, gives me an idea of where I'm performing compared to others.

[Bill B]

The Fuji has the stem shifters. Never really liked the downtube shifters. Someone mentioned bikes direct. I see them advertise alot and their prices seem reasonable. Seems like a less expensive way to buy a bike if their after the sale support is good. I use Map My Ride because it was the only one I had heard of when I downloaded the app. Downloaded it in June 2013 and have logged close to 1200 miles with it. Strava and some of the other ones also sound like they would do the job well. The old 10 speed is low tech and heavy. You get a feel for shifting with the friction shifters, but it is easy sometimes to shift one gear farther than you wanted to. The 10 Speed is not to bad except on some of the bigger hills where a lower gear would be nice. I ride sometimes in a local park that has what Map My Ride calls a category 5 climb. It is definately some work getting my 230 pounds and the 42 pound bike up the hill.

When I was younger, I wasn't a huge fan of the handlebar twist shifters, though they aren't bad - I just prefer the click shifters now that I've been using them for a few months

I've always hated handlebar twist shifters and probably always will.

OP was talking about friction shifters vs. indexed shifters, and his Fuji 10-speed probably either has them on the stem or downtube. Those aren't too bad, but they are analog instead of digital like indexed shifters; you push it until you get the gear you want instead of counting clicks and then forgetting about it.

Those old 10-speeds are a decent way to get around even if they are heavy and low-tech.

[Shadow]

Upgrading forks isn't a cheap exercise, if you're going for a good, quality unit that will last you for many years. Granted, be ready to rebuild the fork every couple of years, depending on how hard you ride, but the good news is that rebuilding them is cheap - about $25 in parts and $60 in labor, if you prefer to take it into the shop.

I've replaced my bottom bracket this year, when it went from smooth and quiet to half-seized. This is after about 3,000 miles of hard riding.

I'd probably get a $300 - $350 Rock Shox fork, which seems to be just about entry level. It has to be better than the fork that came on my bike. Interestingly, a co-worker of mine got a new Cannondale 7 right around the same time I got my bike, and it came with the same exact fork.

[AHTOXA]

Hard to get a good stock fork unless one gets into $1500-2000 territory. For hardtails it is a bit less.

[Rope-Pusher]

Seams tummy he's gonna lose that race. (Starting out in too high of a gear, of course)